I’m not gonna to lie, every time I see Messi doing this at 38, I feel like we’re approaching the point where football needs to investigate him. 😂

At some stage the conversation stops being about longevity and starts becoming a discussion about witchcraft.

Something I’ve noticed from the opening games though was less Messi and more the contrast between Argentina, Portugal and England.

Argentina feels like a team that long ago figured out how to make the collective serve the individual without becoming dependent on him. Portugal often feels like the opposite. Incredible players everywhere, but sometimes it looks like everyone has arrived with a different map.

England interested me as well. Against Croatia they looked surprisingly comfortable living inside the chaos. Ghana, meanwhile, looked like chaos had broken into the house and started moving the furniture around.

Which is why I’m fascinated by that upcoming game. England would want to organise chaos. Ghana would want to weaponise it.

As for Messi, I genuinely don’t know what else there is left to say. Players are supposed to age. Football is supposed to move on. Yet somehow he’s still here collecting records like they’re supermarket loyalty points.